Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on EQBK. Stephens upped their price target on Equity Bancshares from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.17.

Equity Bancshares Stock Down 0.2%

EQBK opened at $51.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.90 and a beta of 0.77. Equity Bancshares has a twelve month low of $38.60 and a twelve month high of $52.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $49.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.75.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.17. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The company had revenue of $81.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.10 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equity Bancshares will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Equity Bancshares’s payout ratio is 43.11%.

Insider Activity at Equity Bancshares

In other Equity Bancshares news, COO Julie A. Huber sold 2,197 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $112,310.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 62,009 shares in the company, valued at $3,169,900.08. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lisa Ann Schlehuber bought 989 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.98 per share, with a total value of $50,419.22. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,650.16. This represents a 89.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 26,039 shares of company stock worth $1,324,083 in the last 90 days. 14.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 282.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Equity Bancshares by 132.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Equity Bancshares by 233.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Equity Bancshares by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Bancshares Company Profile

Equity Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Equity Bank, a regional financial services provider headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. As a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker EQBK, Equity Bancshares operates a network of branches and lending offices across Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Illinois and Colorado. Its geographic footprint spans both urban and rural markets, reflecting a focus on supporting small businesses, agricultural enterprises and individual consumers throughout the Midwest.

The company’s core business activities encompass a full spectrum of commercial and consumer banking services.